Play It Again

June 28, 2008|By JEFF ZREBIEC

A recap of the Orioles' 4-2 loss to the Nationals last night:

SUDDEN REVERSALS

Daniel Cabrera struggled in the beginning, dominated in the middle and struggled again at the end of his outing. Cabrera, seeking his first win since May 20, allowed two runs and four hits in the first inning. After dodging trouble in the second, Cabrera started a run during which he retired 11 straight Nationals, four of them by strikeouts. But with the score tied heading into the bottom of the seventh, Cabrera issued a leadoff walk to Willie Harris. Pinch hitter Kory Casto doubled him home for the go-ahead run after the ball was misplayed by left fielder Jay Payton. Elijah Dukes gave the Nationals an insurance run with an RBI single, and then Lastings Milledge hit a single, ending Cabrera's night.

I'VE SEEN ENOUGH

The Orioles have already clinched their first winning interleague season since 1999, but there is something they won't miss when interleague play ends tomorrow - watching Cabrera hit. The hulking pitcher struck out in all three of his at-bats last night, continuing a trend that won't change anytime soon. In 14 career at-bats, Cabrera is 0-for-14 with 14 strikeouts. He did take a couple of cuts last night, which was an improvement.

IMMEDIATE IMPACT

Orioles shortstop Brandon Fahey was working on no sleep from the night before when he arrived yesterday afternoon at Nationals Park. He was told he was coming back to the big leagues before Triple-A Norfolk's game Thursday night in Charlotte, N.C. The team's bus didn't get back to Norfolk until after 5 a.m. yesterday. Fahey then went home, packed his belongings into his truck and drove north. He immediately found himself in the lineup last night and delivered a bloop single to left that scored Adam Jones from second base and tied the score at 2 in the sixth inning.

ON DECK

Tonight's game starts at 7:10 and will feature a matchup of rookie left-handers. Garrett Olson (5-3, 5.01), who gets the ball for the Orioles, is winless in his past three starts. Olson beat the Nationals on May 16 at Camden Yards, allowing three earned runs in five innings. John Lannan (4-8, 3.34), tonight's starter for Washington, has allowed two earned runs or fewer in 11 of his 15 starts. He baffled the Orioles on May 18, limiting them to one earned run over 7 1/3 innings. Lannan hasn't won in six straight starts, but he has given up more than two earned runs in one of those games.